A: Algebra

You may be smarter than a 5-year-old in almost every area — but possibly not algebra. Most pre-schoolers and kindergarteners, children between ages 4 and 6, can do basic algebra naturally, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. “These very young children, some of whom are just learning to count, and few of whom have even gone to school yet, are doing basic algebra and with little effort,” said co-study author Melissa Kibbe. “They do it by using what we call their Approximate Number System: their gut-level, inborn sense of quantity and number.” The Approximate Number System, or ANS, is also called “number sense,” and describes humans’ and animals’ ability to quickly size up the quantity of objects in their everyday environments. Previous research has revealed some interesting facts about number sense, including that adolescents who have better math abilities also had superior number sense when they were preschoolers. while the ANS helps children in solving basic algebra, more sophisticated concepts and reasoning are needed to master the complex algebra problems that are taught later in the school age years.